Massachusetts

Massachusetts is one of the fifty states of the United States, located in New England in the northeast of the country. The state is a global leader in biotechnology, higher education, finance, and maritime trade, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) being a center of technological innovation in America. The state was one of the first states to be colonized by England, with the Pilgrims arriving at Plymouth in 1620 and the Puritans founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Since then, the state capital of Boston has been a center of education and maritime trade, serving as both a major port city and the location of Harvard College, University of Massachusetts, and MIT. In 2015, the state had a population of 6,794,422 people, with 83.2% being white, 8.8% African-Americans, 6.3% Asians, .5% Native Americans, less than .1% Pacific islanders, 3.1% multiracial, and 2.1% other races. 34% are Catholic, 21% Protestant, 3% Jewish, and 32% atheist, with 10% being Buddhists, pagans, Hindus, Muslims, and Mormons.